Weerasethakul told the BBC's Issariya Praithongyaem that showing the film in Thailand would do more harm than good.

"Whatever movies we have produced, we don't want to show it to Thai audiences because in the current situation we don't have genuine freedom. I don't want to be part of a system where the movie director has to exercise self-censorship," he said.

The plot of his new film revolves around a unit of soldiers afflicted by an epidemic of a mysterious sleeping sickness.

Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Apichatpong Weerasethakul received the Palme d'Or in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

"I feel there is more violence in our country than in others that are in similar situations," he said. "And I am sad to see that I don't have any power or rights to speak because I know if I speak, harm will come to me."

Since last year's coup, concerns around censorship by the country's military government have grown.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who heads the military government, initially said democratic elections would be held before the end of 2015.